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So satisfying. That is all that can be said about the "Costa Rica Naranjo
San Juanillo" roasted by Kane at Sunergos Coffee that we just Chemexed in the
office. The dry aroma is peanut butter, while the wet aroma is toffee and
molasses. It has a nicely bright acidity. A very sweet cup. Toffee and graham
cracker. We are getting some cherries, apples and cane sugar comments in the
office. It leaves an aftertaste on the tongue of sweet dark chocolate. Wow.
Much goodness on a Monday morning.

This is the third installment of our blog series focusing on microroasteries
(and shops) around Louisville, the Midwest, and also across the country. Our
good friends Pearland
Coffee Roasters are a young roasterie based out of the town of the same
name, Pearland, Texas. Pearland is a rapidly growing city located just outside
of Houston.

Enjoying a V60 of some Kenya Nyeri Gathaithi Peaberry in the office. Roasted
a bit darker, around a full city to full city + to tone down the brightness and
acidity and bring out more winey sweetness. This cup has a buttery mouthfeel
that sits on the back of the tongue, with lemon sweetness. Very nice.

It was a dark and misty morning. The sun lay slumbering behind the horizon.
All normal people remained in bed. I stumbled over to
Nord's Bakery, bleary-eyed and half dead. I needed a hard-hitting shot of
donut, and I needed it fast. The tinny clang of the bell announced my arrival.
I was greeted by the always cheery staff. "Mhpshdlhuyh," I replied. I held up
four fingers and pointed to the donuts I wanted.

On Sunday, I had an interesting experience with one of my favorite coffees
from the past several months, the natural-processed Ethiopia Wondo Bonko
Sidamo. This coffee, whose greens came from PT's in Kansas, has that lush
bouquet of distinctive fruited notes, both on the tongue and in the nose. I had
roasted a batch of this to just a shade past first crack on Saturday afternoon,
making it very young in the post-roast sense. I brewed up a batch in the
morning using the V60, then did the same in the afternoon.

Why does a light-roasted, natural-processed Ethiopian often give off a great
deal more of the herbal bitter notes, rather than the fruited notes foretold by
the dry and wet aromas, when brewed in a syphon? This is one of those brewing
conundrums that has been sitting around in my head for several months now. Take
a batch of roasted coffee and brew it in a press or in a pour-over, and bam!
you get tons of berry notes all up in your retronasals, you know? But just as
often as not, that same roast will yield a syphon pot that
is...just...lacking.

This morning, I pressed a batch of Panama La Berlina Estate Typica. I
remember it having a wonderful, full and round mouthfeel, quite
viscous and pleasant. I go back and forth between thinking it's a bit syrupy
and a bit hefty, like whole milk. No chalkiness, either, which is extra nice.
And its taste? Brightness like a Central American coffee often has, with citrus
fruit notes that fade into a graham cracker finish. It's a somewhat juicy cup,
too, in that it doesn't give off too much of a drying sensation.

This morning, I brewed a batch in the V60 at home, then brought it here to
the office. Since I had a lot of leftover batches lying around my kitchen, I
combined the end of two batches to get an acceptable amount of coffee for my
desired yield size. The coffees? Roughly 60% of Costa Rica Don Mayo La
Ponderosa Bourbon and 40% of Ethiopia Beloya Selection Eight, both of which
were kept on the lighter side of the roasting spectrum.

In the blogging, twittering, and generally-interneting specialty coffee
world, there seems to be a renewed interest in not just the way we brew coffee,
but particularly in the specifics involved in the ways we brew coffee. Take,
for instance, the french press: it allows coarsely-ground coffee to be
saturated with hot, almost-boiling water for roughly four minutes to create a
brew that is then filtered by the pressing action of the french press, thereby
separating the grounds from what has now become brewed coffee.

This is the first of what we hope to be many tasting blogs in the future
featuring roasters from Louisville, the Midwest, and nationally. Our hopes in
doing this are threefold. First, we want to bring exposure to great roasters
and shops we believe are doing good in the specialty coffee movement. Second,
we want to introduce these roasters to the readers of our blog. And third, we
love trying out great coffees in the office!

A few months back we came up with the idea to start writing regular blogs
that would feature different roasters from around Louisville, the Midwest, and
even nationally that we felt were doing great things in coffee. Like we stated
in the first blog, we hope
that we are able to bring exposure to these roasters, and we love tasting new
coffees!

So, it has been an embarrassingly long time since we have blogged. Perhaps
one could blame it on the holidays, or the New Year, or all the time spent
trying to stick to those resolutions that we are about to break soon anyway,
but in the end there is really no excuse. I'm not even sure what to write
about, to tell the truth. We have some ideas for educational and helpful blogs
in the future, but alas this is not one of those. So I will just take the time
to speak of the good things in coffee that I have experienced over the last
several hours.

We are planning to add a new focus for the blog in the next several weeks.
Starting soon, we hope to regularly review coffee from different roasters
locally here in Louisville, as well as across the country (and beyond!). This
will provide us with an opportunity to not only cup great coffee in the office,
but also to provide those reading our blog exposure to roasters and shops who
are bringing specialty coffee to the mainstream. Get excited; we sure are! And
to all you roasters out there, you are welcome to send us free samples, if you
wish!

When the Average Joe goes to seek out his usual Cup of Joe, the tendency is
that there is not a whole lot of variety to it. In most cases, the idea that
there are "origins" or "roasting profiles" or "in-season offerings" go against
the very spirit of that indomitable, dependable constant: a simple cup of
coffee. A little cream, a little sugar, and all is well with the
world...right?

Barbara, our Prima accountant, just invested in a Hottop roaster and we are
enjoying the fruit (pun somewhat intended) of her labor. Monday, she brought in
a bag of her new
Costa Rica San Marcos Tarrazu from Sweet Maria's. We have been salivating
as we waited for the three day roasting mark to pass. Today, we broke open the
bag and plundered the treasure.

PT's Coffee very graciously sent us bags and bags of coffee and espresso for
the Bash a couple of weeks ago. There was some Ehtiopia Sidama Ardi Natural
left over and we snatched it up for our office enjoyment (which is what we are
sipping on this morning). The citrus fruit notes have mellowed out a bit after
a couple of weeks but there is still a deep, sweet fruit and spice taste that
is keeping me well satisfied. Thank you PT's and thank you Mike!

We received our first shipment of Aerobie Aeropress brewers this
morning. I wasn't sure what to expect from a frisbee manufacturer, but the
reviews I've read were all very positive. As soon as we could, Lee and I both
headed off to the break room to brew up the first two cups. Lee used more water
with a medium grind. I used less water with a grind only a little coarser than
espresso.

Pioneering a new front for specialty coffee, pour over brewing represents
the intersection of artistry and excellence. In this guide, we set out to
examine the available options and scrutinize them side by side.

Fresh from the vaults of innovation, the Forté has arrived. So what's the
chatter about? This review will get you close and cozy with Baratza's newest
grinder, where you'll find out if it's really hot stuff — or all hype.

Coffee on ice continues to be a growing trend in the US, and naturally factions have grown around the various favored brewing methods. We now have cold brew in abundance, canned coffee beverages, and copious ways to chill the hot stuff too.
So, what's the consensus?

Every trade has its tools, and that of manual coffee-making is no exception.
One of the most important tools — especially for pour-over brewing — is the
kettle. And, if you ask us, these are the best ones out there.

Roasting your own coffee beans at home is better than ever with Hottop’s Home Coffee Roasters. The Hottop design is advanced enough to allow a skilled roaster to determine optimal parameters, while also being simple enough to enable newcomers to produce evenly roasted beans. So whether you’re new to the game or you’re a veteran roaster, Hottop roasters can give you coffee that’s exactly how you like it -- freshly roasted and full of fantastic flavor.

The hustle and bustle of Black Friday and Cyber Monday are behind us, but there's still time to save on your holiday shopping. All December long, you can enjoy these promos and savings, or get some free coffee with your order. No rush, no fuss, just sweet sweet holiday deals!

Weary of waiting in line for hours... freezing... just to save a few bucks?
We bring glad tidings! This year, shop for and save on coffee gear from your
own home or smartphone. These Black Friday deals will hit the internet
soon.

Hey there, last-minute-gift-shopper, it's going to be okay! No need for more hand-wringing, if you're looking for the perfect coffee gift this season we've just made your job easier. Check out our easy-to-browse list of great gifts for every budget, and finish up your shopping today!